The effects of polyglycerol behenic acid esters on the crystallization of palm oil were studied using optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Polyglycerol behenic acid esters were added in an attempt to promote the crystallization of palm oil. Optical microscopy observation confirmed that palm-oil crystals with the addition of 1 wt% of polyglycerol behenic acid esters were smaller and the number of palm oil crystals larger than without the additives. This indicated that the polyglycerol behenic acid ester promoted nucleation and inhibited crystal growth of palm oil. X-ray diffraction patterns of palm oil without the additives revealed that palm oil crystallized in the α-form after rapid quenching of melted palm oil at 10°C. During the heating process from 10°C to 45°C, the α-form transformed to the β′-form around 15°C, and the β′-form changed to the β-form around 40°C. The X-ray diffraction patterns of palm oil with the addition of polyglycerol behenic acid esters showed that palm oil crystallized in the β′-form at 10°C, and did not transform to the β-form during the heating process. Furthermore, the crystallization of the β′-form was promoted at 20°C and 25°C, but retarded at 28°C by the additive.

Assessment was made of detergency toward clay particle soil on heavily (surface reflectance 55%) and lightly (surface reflectance 70%) soiled cotton clothing in a water/ethanol mixture, using a Terg-O-Tometer washing machine. A nonionic surfactant was added to the water/ethanol mixture to enhance detergency. Heavily soiled clothing detergency was little affected by this addition. However, lightly soiled cloth detergency was improved by the addition of surfactants having an ethanol concentration of less than 20%. It was recognized that a 20% water/ethanol mixture containing polyoxyethylene lauryl ether with 8 or 12 ethylene oxide groups would make an excellent washing solution. The detergency of such washing solutions with 100% ethanol concentration was 0%. The ζ-potential, the penetration of washing solution into clay particles and cotton powder cut from cotton yarn, and the effects of entropy at the surfactant adsorbed layer may all be considered to account for how detergency determines the amount of adhesion of clay particles on cotton cloth.

The pseudo-binary T-X phase diagrams for aqueous mixtures of polyethylene glycol alkyl ethers with chain length distribution were constructed by means of differential scanning calorimetry and were compared with the binary phase diagrams for the aqueous mixtures of surfactants with a homogeneous chain length distribution. The surfactants with chain length distribution were prepared by mixing CnEm (n = 10, 14, and m = 5 - 8) in appropriate molar ratio to provide average chain lengths of n = 12 and m = 6 or 7. The regions of mesophases appearing in the aqueous mixtures of mixed surfactants were essentially the same as those in aqueous mixtures of pure surfactants with chain lengths corresponding to the average chain lengths of the mixed surfactants. This suggests that the aqueous phase behavior of the POE-type surfactants with chain length distribution is determined by the average chain length in both the POE chain and the hydrocarbon chain so long as the chain length difference among the components is not so large.

The purpose of this study was to review the safety of long-term excessive ingestion of Garcinia extract. For 12 weeks, a dosage of 5000 mg Garcinia extract powder (3000 mg/day as (-)-hydroxycitric acid [(-)-HCA]) was administered to healthy subjects (men 24, women 24). Hematology, hemobiochemistry, endocrinology and urinalysis were carried out every four weeks. Endocrinologically, serum inhibin B increased in men (P<0.05), from 162.1 ± 46.2 pg/mL to 186.7 ± 61.6 pg/mL. In addition, Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) increased (P<0.05), from 4.68 ± 2.65 mIU/mL to 5.18 ± 2.75 mIU/mL. It is hard to conceive the changes had a testiculus influence, because the changes were very slight and no reciprocal relationships existed between them. In women, no significant change of sex hormone was noted and no influence on menstrual cycles was observed. Neither remarkable changes in hematology, hemobiochemistry and urinalysis nor adverse events were observed. These findings support the safety for humans of long-term excessive administration of Garcinia extract (3000 mg/day as HCA, 12 weeks) was high.

The effects of divalent metal ions (Ca2+, Mg2+) on the physicochemical properties and dispersibility of phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes were examined by using an optical microscopy, and the measurements of trapping efficiency, lamellarity, zeta potential. The trapping efficiency of PC liposomes was markedly improved (ca. 8 times) in the presence of an equimolar amount of a divalent metal ion, and that bearing Ca2+ ions was then higher than that of liposomes bearing Mg2+ ions. Optical microscopy on PC liposomes showed that the formation of liposomes is markedly promoted by the addition of divalent metal ions. The lamellarity measurements revealed that liposome bearing divalent metal ions is a unilamellar structure; this gives a higher trapping efficiency of liposomes compared with a control. The lamellarity of liposomes bearing Ca2+ ions was then lower than that of those bearing Mg2+ ions. Liposomal solutions containing equimolar amount of divalent metal ions remained well dispersed for more than 1 month, whereas that without divalent metal ions exhibited a significant phase separation. The liposomes bearing Ca2+ ions then exhibited a better dispersibility than that of those bearing Mg2+ ions, because of their higher zeta potential. Finally, we concluded that the unilamellar liposomes formation with a high dispersibility is promoted by not only electrostatic repulsion between bilayers but also the spontaneous curvature of liposomal bilayers induced by bearing of divalent metal ions.

Multi-step-growth of oil droplets dispersed in water was theoretically studied in terms of mean free path. If r0, r1, r2……are the radii of oil droplets for each step, they were found to be in a geometrical series with the common ratio of (Vt / 3Vo)1/3. Here, Vo is the volume of oil dispersed in water, and Vt the total volume of the oil-in-water emulsion. The theory developed was applied to the three-step-growth of benzene droplets, and the experimental results were explained well throughout the whole steps.